


Monkeys and Move-Ins

by The_Trees_Speak_Latin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Artist!Keith, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith raises his niece, Kid Fic, Lance has a large family, M/M, Pining, Slow Build, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, bi!lance, but not, gay!keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 18:42:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11132562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Trees_Speak_Latin/pseuds/The_Trees_Speak_Latin
Summary: Keith's sister and her husband were killed in a car crash five years ago, leaving their daughter without parents. Keith raised her, devoting every moment to making sure she had a good life. That was, until a neighbor moved in who could be a little, well, distracting.





	Monkeys and Move-Ins

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for how short this chapter is, I promise future chapters will be longer! Hope you enjoy!

Keith’s life wasn’t perfect. He had a boring nine to five job office job with weekends off and very little vacation time. He had a small house in a quiet neighborhood with a fair sized backyard and a nice cherry tree in the front yard that bloomed with white flowers every spring. His house was a soft gray color on the outside with a small front porch that housed a white porch swing and a few different arrangements of potted plants. There was a dark brown front door with a small entry mat with Welcome sprawled across it. 

Inside the door, there was a small but open living room with pale red walls and a black leather couch with two large chairs arranged in a semi circle around a TV. The room had a connecting dining room that housed a dark wood table and four chairs. There was a small hallway with two bedrooms and one bathroom. The kitchen was off of the dining room. It was a little crowded with a moving island, dark granite countertops and steel appliances. A loaf of bread sat out on the counter next to an open package of juice boxes. There was a small set of stairs that led up to a tiny second floor that was transformed into an office. Throughout the house, the walls were covered in framed photographs. Some of them were of two men, one with a striking white streak in his hair and the other with remarkably dark eyes. A few photos featured the dark-eyed man with a woman who had identical eyes and similar facial features. Others showed the three adults with what could be assumed as their family, surrounded by people all with bright smiles and grinning eyes. However, the majority of the photos featured a small girl with missing front teeth, dark hair pulled back in a various assortment of hairstyles, mainly pigtails. The photos documented different stages of her life, up until the current time, second grade. There were a couple of infant photos but the photos were mostly of four years old and on. 

Keith’s life wasn’t perfect. He used any extra money from his job to buy Barbies and Transformers. He passed his time researching different recipes and reading parenting books. His vacation time was driving one hour north to stay at a small campground and spending his little time off with a seven year old. He was used to going to work with dark bags under his eyes or marker stains on his shirts. 

So no, his life wasn’t perfect, but going to work to find misspelled notes stuck in his lunch and little drawings hidden in his briefcase made it all worth it. Coming home to the gap toothed smile and the squeaky voice yelling “You’re home!” helped make his life pretty damn close to perfect. 

Keith groaned in boredom and finally hit submit at the bottom of the page, sending in his report. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and checked the time on his ancient, battered watch. Standing up, he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on, buttoning it up, before grabbing his briefcase and scarf and signed out of work. He waved to a few people as he walked out, finally letting out a sigh at the realization that it was Friday. Keith pulled out his phone and dialed a number before sliding into his car. 

“Hello?” A sweet voice answered the other line.

“Hey, Shay. How is she?” Keith asked, starting his car and putting his phone on speaker.

“As sweet as ever! She’s finished her homework and eaten a snack, but she’s ready for you to pick her up. She looks tired.” Shay responded and there was a small voice in the background. 

“I’m hurrying, I promise, but I’m going onto the freeway now, so I’ll have to call you back. Be there in twenty,” Keith responded and hung up the phone. He merged onto the freeway, tapping his finger in the rhythm of whatever song was playing on the radio. 

He finally pulled up to Shay’s house. Shay was his nanny and friend. She was amazing with Eva and the little girl loved her. Keith quickly got out of the car and rushed up the steps. 

“Sorry, I’m late!” He said, as Shay opened the door. 

“It’s not a problem!” She responded with a large smile. 

“Uncle Keith!” A high pitched voice screeched as a small child barreled through the house and attached to Keith’s legs, almost knocking him over. Keith smiled at the sight, fondly looking down at the girl. He tousled her hair gently.

“Hey, Monkey,” Eva rolled her eyes at the name. “Ready to go?” He asked as she nodded. He thanked Shay and led his niece out to the car. The little girl hopped into the backseat and Keith turned around to make sure she buckled her seatbelt. “Hungry?” He asked, handing her a lunch bag that contained a juice box and some snacks. 

“Thanks!” She grinned and Keith responded with a smile.

“How was Shay?” He asked, pulling back onto the freeway and driving towards their house. 

“Good! We drew pictures today!” She exclaimed, rummaging around in the bag next to her for her drawings. Once procured, she waved them around in the rear view mirror and Keith chuckled. 

“They look beautiful, Monkey.” He smiled and she blushed. As they drove the rest of the way home, Keith couldn’t contain a happy sigh. Sure, his job wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life and the piling taxes and bills were a constant heavy reminder that sometimes money got a little tight, but right now, looking behind him at his niece, everything he’d ever done seemed worthwhile. 

He pulled into their driveway and shut the car off, turning to the seat next to him to gather his briefcase. He climbed out of the car, turning to lock it, and something caught his eye. The house a few houses down had a white realty sign that had been there for the past few months. What drew his eye, was the SOLD written across the bottom in bold, red, letters. So they were getting new neighbors, Keith mused as he followed Eva to the front door. Maybe a family would move in, hopefully someone with kids around Eva’s age. 

Keith flipped the lights on and Eva tugged off her shoes before racing to her room to drop her stuff. Her uncle let out a sigh and toed his shoes off, leaving them neatly by the front door. He walked up the stairs and dropped his briefcase in his office before going to the kitchen. Eva was already waiting there, her silky black hair tied back into two ponytails, knowing Keith’s rule about hair in the kitchen. She grinned, a hand carrying a single hairband stuck out. Keith smiled and grabbed the elastic before crouching down. Eva liked to put his hair up, said it gave her practice for her own hair. Her small hands raked through Keith’s thick raven hair before gathering it all in a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. He handed her the hairband and she wrapped it around, letting out a “ta dah!” when she had finished. 

“Why thank you, Eva.” He said with a smile and she beamed.

“I want to help with dinner!” She exclaimed and Keith nodded. 

“How about I put you in charge of the water? Does spaghetti tonight sound good to you?” He asked and the girl nodded furiously. 

“I love spaghetti!” 

“I know.” Keith said with a laugh, pulling out a pan and filling it with water. After setting it on the stove and turning the burner on, he turned to Eva. “Let me-” He began before she interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. 

“Know when it bubbles. I know that, silly!” She said, her face halfway between a smile and a pout. 

“Guess I forget how smart you are sometimes.” Was Keith’s reply as he busied himself chopping tomatoes and mincing garlic. He knew it’d be easier to just buy the sauce in a jar, but Keith enjoyed cooking, and cooking with Eva was even better. Even though he had raised the girl for five years, it was hard for him to believe how fast she was growing. It seemed like everyday, she grew another inch. “Is it bubbling yet?” He asked, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. 

“No! I’ll tell you when!” Eva insisted, her large dark eyes reprimanding, much to Keith’s amusement. 

“Add a dash of salt, it’ll boil faster!” Keith instructed and Eva shook a bit of salt into the water, before returning to watch the water with attentive eyes. Keith finally finished cutting the ingredients, and began sauteing the onion in the olive oil. He smiled fondly over at the little girl, whose gaze never wavered from the pot. He knew that if she put the lid on, it would boil faster, but he wouldn’t deny her of her job which she took so vigilantly. After he had added the garlic to the onions, Eva let out a loud sound of excitement. 

“It’s bubbling!” She said, proudly. 

“You know what to do!” He responded, handing her the open packet of pasta. She pulled the pasta out, wrapping her small hands around it and giving it a spin when she placed it in the water. When she looked up at Keith, she held out her hand, and he high fived her before tapping elbows. It was their secret little handshake. Not much, but it was something she’d done when she was younger, and it carried over as she grew older. It was a simple high five and then an elbow bump, but it meant the world to Keith. 

Eva diligently watched the pasta and a little while later, they were sitting down to their meal. Keith had bought a baguette on his way home from a bakery near his work, and he had cut a bit of it up. Eva began eating, letting out appreciative sounds every now and then and Keith ate as well. It was one of his favorite recipes, one his brother, Shiro, had gotten from a family he stayed with in Italy. 

Their meal continued with Eva talking about her day with Shay and Keith responding with a smile on his face. It didn’t matter how boring his work was, or how much he didn’t want to continue his career, coming home to Eva made up for all of it. She was a little slice of sunshine in his cloudy day.

When they had finished eating, Keith took the dishes to the kitchen and Eva helped him load the dishwasher. Once finished, Eva ran to the bathroom and drew a bath for herself while Keith went up to his office. 

Keith sighed as he sank into his desk chair, resting his head in his hands. His job was a constant reminder of how different his life was from what he thought it would be. Six years ago, Keith was on course to graduate the next year with a degree in graphic design, and already had a freelance business set up for him. Because he was planning on owning his own freelance business, he’d double majored in graphic design and marketing, which later assisted him in finding a job with a higher income. 

He opened up the database for work and checked a few of his emails before logging off and shut his computer down. He could hear Eva’s happy humming from downstairs and smiled softly. It was a sound he thought he’d never get used to hearing, but now, it seemed natural. He returned downstairs, pausing in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Ready for bed?” He asked and Eva grinned up at him, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. After she finished getting ready, Keith walked her to her room and she jumped into her bed, burrowing under the covers. Keith ruffled her braided hair and leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, monkey.” He said as he turned her bedside lamp off. 

“G’night, Uncle Keith,” she responded and Keith left the room, leaving the door open a crack. He got himself ready for bed and then made his way to his own room. It was 8:00, not very late, but ever since that night, the one that changed his life forever, he’d started trying to sleep earlier. He knew he wouldn’t fall asleep, and if he did, he wouldn’t stay asleep, but anything was better than nothing. 

He laid down, his cheek against the pillow and his eyes resting on a photo by his bedside. The photo was taken seven years ago, a smiling happy family in the center. Keith, his sister, and his brother Shiro were in the photo. His sister had one arm around a man and the other held a small baby girl. There were more people in the background, all looking similar to three of the adults in the front. Keith’s parents were standing on each side of them. His eyes drooped closed, but his mind wandered. 

It wandered back five years, to the day he was babysitting Eva, claiming he wasn’t feeling well enough to go out to dinner with his siblings. Really, Keith had just wanted some quality time with his niece. Shiro and Noa, their sister, had teased him about it, but they had left Keith with Eva at Noa’s house. Noa and her husband, Kent, had gone out to celebrate Shiro being hired by a middle school to teach English. As much as Keith wanted to go, he hadn’t spent time with Eva in a while. A few hours after he’d put Eva to sleep, he started yawning, realizing how late it was. His siblings should’ve been home an hour ago. 

Keith shouldn’t have had to wake up to a phone call asking him to come to the local hospital. He shouldn’t have had to stand there, barely listening as the doctor explained that a drunk driver had hit his siblings, killing Noa on impact and leaving her husband and Shiro in critical condition. He shouldn’t have had to explain to his mother that her daughter was dead and Kent passed away after his body rejected the lung transplant. He shouldn’t have had to explain to his brother when he woke up that his right hand had to be amputated, and his face had been left permanently scarred. And most of all, he shouldn’t have had to explain to his niece that her parents were never coming home. 

Keith’s head throbbed as he turned, staring at the ceiling. He’d never regret his decision to change his major in order to get a job that would support both him and Eva. He’d never regret telling his parents that he’d be the one to take and raise Eva, instead of them. He’d never regret the day he brought Eva home to his small two room apartment, letting her take his room and him sleeping on the couch. He’d never regret working day and night to afford to buy his own house so that Eva could grow up in a nice community. Every time he looked at the young girl, he knew that every decision he’d ever made was worth it when he got to see her gap toothed smile. 

Letting out a loud sigh, Keith turned restlessly onto his left side. There’d be no sleep tonight, he realized and stood up, making his way to his office. In a drawer in the bottom of a weathered desk, sat his sketchbook, worn and old. He pulled it out and flipped through the pages before settling on a blank one. Grabbing a pencil, he began sketching. Drawing was his way of remembering his sister and her husband, it was his way of bringing them back to life, through the pages. Time passed pretty fast the he while he was drawing, and before he knew it, it was 2:00 AM. He blinked at the page which was filled with rough sketches of Noa and Kent. Yawing, he placed the sketchbook back into the drawer and closed it. He returned to his bed and laid down. Maybe he’d sleep after that, a part of him hoped, although he knew it wouldn’t happen. It would just be another sleepless night. 

—————————  
Today was Saturday, he realized with confused blinking. He slowly stood up and made his way to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. He’d promised Eva he’d take her to the beach today, but it was still slightly cold out. He hoped it’d warm up later, a day of relaxing sounded perfect to him. As he was setting two plates of eggs and toast out, he heard the familiar patter of Eva’s feet on the stairs. She poked her head into the kitchen, a big smile on her face. 

“Keith! Today is beach day!” She exclaimed and Keith smiled. 

“Sure is! If it gets warmer, it’s a little chilly out right now.” He said as the two sat down.

“I don’t mind!” She said bravely, sticking her head up with confidence. “I don’t care if it’s cold! I wanna go swimming!” Keith laughed at her declaration and took a bite of his toast. 

“The water's going to be pretty cold, though. I don’t want you to get sick,” he explained. 

“I won’t! I’m invincible, right?” She asked. It was something he’d told her a year ago, when she was getting shots. For some reason, she liked to bring it up as much as she could, stumbling over the pronunciation and Keith found it adorable.

“Yeah, you are, Monkey,” he responded and continued eating. Eva started talking about school and someone in her class as they finished breakfast. Keith checked the temperature as he put the dishes in the sink. It’d warmed up to 85 degrees, and Keith called for Eva to grab her swimsuit. He made his way to his own room, grabbing a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt. Pushing his hair into a ponytail, he met his niece in the hallway. 

“Here, hang on a second,” Keith said, grabbing two hair binders and motioning for her to come over. He pulled her hair up into two pigtails and then smiled at her. “Better?”

“Yes!” She squealed and tugged at each one to make them tighter. “Can we go now? Please?” She asked, dragging out the last word. 

“Alright,” he agreed, grabbing a bag of beach stuff and locking the door behind them. As he walked to the car, he noticed the bustle a few houses down. There was a large moving truck with a lot of people moving from the truck to the house, arms heavy with items. 

“Are we getting new neighbors?” Eva asked from his side and he glanced down at her. 

“Looks that way,” he said as he unlocked the car. 

“Can we make them cookies? Like we did for Mrs. Robinson?” Eva asked curiously and Keith smiled in agreement. 

“Sounds like a plan for when we get home. Who’s ready for the beach?” He asked and grinned at the shout of “I am! I am!” 

—————————  
After arriving home from a long and exhausting day at the beach, Keith was ready to take a nap. He was just about to lay down on the couch when a small whirl of energy tapped his arm unrelentingly. He opened one eye and stared accusingly at the seven year old.

“Aren’t we going to make cookies?” She asked and Keith bit back an internal groan. 

“Yeah, I guess we are.” He said, standing up and stretching. He walked slowly to the kitchen, Eva circling around him and tugging his hand, pushing him towards the kitchen. 

“We’re going to make the best cookies ever! The new neighbor is going to love us!” She exclaimed and stood on a stool to grab a cookbook. Keith pulled out a few ingredients as she flipped to the correct page. 

He mixed together the liquid ingredients while his niece mixed the dry, managing to get about a cup of flour on her in the process. They mixed the two together and added the chocolate chips. Eva rolled them into balls and placed them on the cookie sheets while Keith began loading the dishwasher. Once they were all in the oven and cooking, Keith glanced at Eva. Her red apron was now white, with hints of red. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He said, laughing as she tried to push hair out of her face, resulting in adding a line of flour on her forehead. 

“I’m a ghost!” She squealed when she looked in the mirror. Keith untied the apron behind her, careful not to let the flour fall on the flour. 

“Well, Casper, how about you grab me that nice container Grandma gave us, yeah?” He asked and she raced off to complete her newfound task. 

He glanced at the timer that displayed two minutes left, before starting the dishwasher. Eva came racing back in, container in hand. 

“Is this it?” She asked, giving it to Keith.

“That’s it!” He responded, placing it on the counter. The timer went off, and Keith grabbed a tray in both hands, setting them down on cooling racks. “Let’s give them a little bit to cool. Why don’t you go get changed? You still look a little too much like the Pillsbury dough boy.” He teased and she ran to her room, leaving a trail of giggles. As Keith was about to sit down, his phone rang. 

“Hello?”

“Keith! How are you?” Shiro’s voice came from the other end of the line. 

“I’m good, you? Are we still on for this weekend?” Keith asked, tucking his phone into his shoulder as he started removing the cookies from the pan. 

“Yeah! Can’t wait to see Eva, it’s been too long. Allura’s wondering if she could come to?” His brother asked. 

“Of course! On that topic, have you asked her yet?” Keith asked. Shirt and Allura had been dating for three years, and Shiro had told Keith he wanted to pop the question. 

“It hasn’t been the right time,” was Shiro’s response and Keith rolled his eyes. 

“You’ve said that for six weeks, Shiro. You have to make it the right time. What happened to your plan about last weekend?” Keith asked. “That was a such a good idea. You know Allura loves art museums.” 

“She was sick, I didn’t want to make her have to leave the house,” Shiro protested and Keith groaned.

“Okay, I gotta go. Bye!” He said as Eva walked into the room. “And Shiro? You’ll know when the time is right.” He hung up after that, and placed the cookies in the container. “Ready to go, Monkey?” He asked. 

“I’m too old for that nickname!” She argued, taking the container from him. 

“You’ll never be too old for it.” He said fondly as he ruffled her hair. “Alright, let’s go hassle our new neighbor.” Eva led the way out the door and over to the other house. 

Once there, Eva wasted no time, walking up the steps with a determined gait, and knocking on the door. Keith stood at the bottom of the steps, leaning slightly on the railing. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a tall man. He looked around for a second, then his eyes landed on Eva. He had slightly curly chestnut hair and tanned skin. He was pretty cute, in Keith’s opinion, but when Keith saw his eyes, his opinion changed. No, he wasn’t cute, with his ocean blue eyes and stunning smile, he was gorgeous. Keith jumped a little when he spoke, his neck turning red slightly. 

“Hello!” The other man greeted. 

“Hello!” Eva returned his cheery tone. “I’m Eva Kogane and this is my uncle Keith!” She announced and the new neighbor smiled. Every time Eva said her full name, Keith was happy his sister decided to give her Kogane as her last name. 

“Nice to meet you, Eva. I’m Lance McClain.” The new neighbor introduced himself and Keith nodded in acknowledgment. Lance smiled at him, and Keith felt blush creeping up his face. 

“We made you cookies,” Keith blurted out, realizing how flustered he was. Lance raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly and Keith stared at the ground, embarrassed. 

“Yeah! Here you go!” Eva said brightly, shoving the container towards Lance. The man took it, smiling at it before glancing back at Keith, who was still staring at the ground. 

“Thank you so much! Did you make them?” He asked Eva. 

“I did! Well, me and Keithy,” she said, moving to stand by her uncle. 

“Well, I’m sure they’re going to taste great,” Lance said and Keith felt the conversation dying.

“Uh, we just wanted to give you something to welcome you to the neighborhood,” Keith explained, glancing up at the other man. 

“This means a lot, thanks,” Lance said and Keith found himself smiling. 

“If you need anything, we live two houses down. Feel free to knock anytime,” Keith said. Seriously anytime, Keith wanted to add. 

“Do you have any pets?” Eva asked. 

“As a matter of fact, I do. One cat named Cobalt.” Lance said and Eva’s face lit up. 

“A cat! Can I meet it?” She asked, bouncing slightly with excitement. 

“Eva, let’s not overstep our boundaries. I’m sure Lance has other things to do,” Keith started before the other man interrupted. 

“I don’t mind. Cobalt’s actually just in the other room. If your uncle says you can, I’d be fine having you meet her.” They both looked at Keith, matching expressions of hopefulness. 

“I guess if he says it’s okay…” Keith relented and Eva jumped with excitement. 

“Yes!” She squealed and followed Lance into his house, Keith close behind. Lance’s house had a similar layout to Keith’s, having been built at the same time, along with a few other matching houses on the block. It wasn’t fully decorated yet, with boxes everywhere, although there were already a lot of photos up. Lance led the way to his dining room after Keith and Eva took off their shoes. 

On one of the dining room chairs sat a long haired gray cat, with stunning blue eyes. Lance swept it up in his arms, holding it towards Eva. Keith’s niece took a tentative step forward, slowly raising a hand. Keith smiled proudly at how gentle she was. The cat let out a ‘mrwph’ of pleasure as Eva began scratching it’s ears. Lance handed the cat to Eva, who took her gingerly, holding her just tight enough so she wouldn’t fall. Lance walked over to where Keith was watching from the entryway of the room. 

“She’s really cute.” He said and Keith hummed in agreement. “Polite, too.” 

“That she doesn’t get from me.” Keith laughed. 

“What? You’re not so bad.” Lance said and Keith raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m having a good day and I’m with Eva. Catch me any other time and you’ll change your mind,” Keith commented and smiled softly as Eva kissed Cobalt’s head. 

“How long have you raised her? If you don’t mind me asking,” Lance asked, quickly adding the second sentence. 

“Five years,” he responded, his voice cutting short. 

“You did a great job. She’s awesome,” Lance grinned and Keith’s stomach flipped with the compliment. Keith wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so he scuffed his foot and glanced back at his niece. 

“We should probably head back now.” Keith said after a few minutes and Eva looked up at him, eyes pleading. 

“Okay.” Lance said and crouched next to where Eva was sitting with the cat. “You can always come back!” The man said with a smile and Eva returned it. 

 

“Really?” She asked, glancing at Keith for confirmation. When he nodded, she moved away from the cat and wrapped her arms around Lance. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She squealed and Lance laughed, glancing back at Keith. 

“Alright, time to go.” Keith said and the other two stood up. Keith wrapped an arm loosely around his niece and paused by the door. “Thanks, Lance. And, uh, welcome to the neighborhood.” Their new neighbor stood at the door, waving as they walked back to their house. 

As they walked into their house, Keith closed the door, pausing as he did. Eva slipped off her shoes and ran to the kitchen. As Keith toed his own shoes off, he could hear the refrigerator open. He thought about what had just happened. It was all a little odd, but Keith smiled at the thought of their new neighbor. The last time he’d actually gone on any sort of date, was when Eva was four. He’d left her with Shiro and his date had been a guy he’d met at work. It went well, and he’d enjoyed it, but when he got home, he’d realized it wouldn’t work out. He’d discovered from previous experiences that having a kid as a responsibility wasn’t a great conversation starter. In fact, a few dates had ended within the first twenty minutes with that news. So, he’d found out to never bring it up, none of them were important enough to know anyways. Nothing ever worked out, and since none of the relationships went further than one date, Keith had decided to stop trying to find the perfect guy and focus all his attention instead on Eva, she actually deserved it, after all. 

As he considered this, Keith started to think about his life. He loved Eva, more than anything in life, but he couldn’t help but feel a little lonely. Eva was adorable, funny, sweet and everything Keith needed, but he missed having someone he could talk to. An adult, a friend. He missed having someone he could talk to about life, and joke with, someone who could understand him. Someone he could tease, someone who he could come home to, someone to help him raise Eva. Someone to give him a hand in life. As he made his way back to the kitchen, his mind drifted to his new neighbor. He wondered what Lance’s life was like. Did he live alone? It had seemed like it from Keith’s small visit to the house. Did he have friends? Maybe Keith would meet them.

Keith quickly chided himself at his thoughts. Lance was hot, sure, and he seemed like a nice guy, but Keith was past the point of trying. A few years ago, he knew Lance would’ve been his type. But this wasn’t a few years ago, and Keith couldn’t afford to waste time figuring out a relationship. 

As Keith made his way into the kitchen, he absentmindedly started humming a melody. He paused for a second, trying to add a name to the tune. After a few moments, he still couldn’t place it. He shrugged and continued to accompany his niece to help get a meal ready. However, for the rest of the night, that same melody drifted through his head, nameless and lyricless, but beautiful nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave comments and/or kudos! I love to hear your feedback!


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